


The Story of Smooth and Dawg

by kaige68



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Community: h50_holidayswap, M/M, Pen Pals, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-08
Updated: 2013-12-08
Packaged: 2018-01-03 10:09:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1069230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaige68/pseuds/kaige68
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grace gets a pen pal assignment at school, turns out that Danny and Steve both had pen pals in the seventh grade too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Story of Smooth and Dawg

**Author's Note:**

  * For [simplyn2deep](https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplyn2deep/gifts).



> Written for Simplyn2deep. She asked for _-Danny & Steve were penpals back in the day who stopped communicating. Flash to the present and one of them finds the letters kept by the other...and even some letters that were never sent._ Happy Holidays!

> **Pen Pal Assignment: You will write one letter every other week until the end of the school year. You cannot use your own name or your address. You can describe your home, your neighborhood, your state, but do not name them. You must ask three questions in every letter that can be answered with a yes or no. You will answer the three questions you were asked. You are to try and guess where your pen pal is from.**

> **Your letters will be given to your teacher who will have them sent to your pen pal once they have been graded. You will be graded on penmanship, punctuation, and grammar. Your letters will also be read for content, any information that is incorrect or misleading as well as information that states where you live will be cause for the letter to be rewritten.**

Danny had seen something like that before. The assignment that Grace had been given looked suspiciously like something he recalled doing in the 7th grade. If he remembered correctly the kids in his class ended up with kids all over the country. It seemed like a fun way to have the students learn penmanship, grammar, and geography. Well, it seemed that way as an adult. When he was in the seventh grade it hadn’t seemed that enjoyable. 

Upon reflection, he still felt a little guilty about it.

*~*~*

_Dear you,_

_This is a strange assignment. I don’t know how to write to someone I never met. What to say to someone from whom I have to keep secrets. I guess I’ll get to the questions first._

_1 - Can you see the ocean from your house?_

_2 - Can you see mountains from your house?_

_3 - Does your state name have one word or two?_

_I am in the seventh grade, but the teacher says that everyone participating is in the same grade. I never skipped a grade, but I never stayed back either. I have a younger sister._

_My mother is a teacher at the school that I attend. This is my fifth draft of this letter, since she keeps reading it, redacting information and making me rewrite it. That is why this letter is so smooth to read. It will be funny if she lets me leave in the part about her redacting things._

_I hope to hear from you soon._

_Sincerely,_

_Smooth_

*~*~*

“When you finish your homework, and not before.”

Steve opened the door after hearing the Camaro pull up to catch Danny telling Grace that she couldn’t go swimming yet. He watched her face deflate a bit. She sent Steve a small smile and a quiet hello when she walked by him and into the house.

He turned to watch her sit on the floor in front of his coffee table dejected with her back pack. She didn’t open it. “Anything I can help you with, Gracie?”

Danny rolled his eyes, at Steve’s going around him with the offer and at Grace’s pouty headshake. “She’s got to do it herself. It’s just a little creative writing letter to a pen pal that she’s never met.”

“Hey, easy-peasy. I did that in school too. You writing the first letter?” Steve sat himself down on the sofa and nudged Grace’s backpack so she’d open it up and get to it.

“Yes, but I don’t know what to say. I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl or anything about them and I can’t tell them anything about me.” She pulled out her notebook and a pen.

“So say that.” Steve suggested. “It’s awkward, they’ll get that when they have to write back to you. Tell them about your day, that you’re at a friend’s on the beach for the day, and that you don’t know what to say. It’ll come.”

“Did you end up with a cool pen pal, Uncle Steve?” Danny heard her ask from the kitchen where he snagged three bottles of water from the fridge.

“Not bad, he seemed cool enough, I guess. He was from New England I think, he broke his arm after a few letters and got excused from the assignment.” To Danny’s perception, Steve looked reflective, not really angry.

“Did you have to keep writing?” Steve nodded at Grace’s question. “How did you guess where your pen pal was from if you never got your questions answered?”

Steve laughed. “It wasn’t easy. Hey, do you want to see some of the letters?”

Grace turned to Danny, and then Steve did too. “Sure, yeah, why not?” _This must be what dirt feels like?_

*~*~*

_Hello Smooth;_

_Nice name. Yes, it is weird. But those were good questions._

_1) No, I can’t see the ocean, but it’s about an hour’s drive. Can you see the ocean from your house?_

_2) No, I can’t see the mountains either. My father says that real mountains are about 2 or 3 hours away. What about you?_

_3) I live in a two word state. It’s a great place. How many words in your state’s name?_

_I am the oldest of 4; two sisters and one brother. I’m in the seventh grade too, never skipped a grade or stayed back either._

_My mom checks the letter for grammar, she’s a secretary. I can’t imagine if she was a teacher, I’d be doing homework all the time. I don’t think I’d like her being at the same school either. I like her not being home when I get home. She thinks I’m wonderful if I do some dishes, or make my brother do his homework. He’s kind of a geek though, so it’s not that hard._

_Baseball tryouts are coming up. I’ve been trying to get my dad to take me to the batting cages when he has time off. He’s a firefighter. It’s cool, but he works strange hours. Do you play baseball? Can I ask you that without it being one of my three questions?_

_Take care of yourself, Smooth._

_Dawg_

_P.S. I had to look up redact._

*~*~*

Steve came down the stairs with an old Trapper Keeper. It was basic blue, and the front had a neatly printed _Pen Pal Project_ written in black magic marker. Danny smiled as Steve opened it and he was able to see that each side was also labeled _To_ and _From_. Steve pulled the top from each side and gave them to Grace to read, then closed the folder.

Danny waited, watching Steve get wholly involved in helping Grace, and then he struck. Danny snagged the folder and dashed off toward the lanai.

“Danny?!” Steve was hot on Danny’s heels. Reaching forward to try and get the folder away from his partner.

Danny stopped in the doorway. One arm holding the trapper out the door, the other inside pushing Steve back. “Did I ever tell you that I broke my right arm in the seventh grade? Just before baseball tryouts. Had to make my friends and family write all my homework. The teachers were nice about it, even let me drop my pen pal assignment. I always felt bad about it cause the kid in California kept writing to me. Poor Smooth.”

Steve took a step back. “Son of a …” He ran his fingers through his hair, turned around, then turned back. “Are you kidding me?”

Danny folded his arms, clutching the folder to his chest. “Would Dawg do that?”

“What the… I can’t…” Steve gave up talking and simply shook his head.

“I know. When you said that about the broken arm.” Danny completely agreed. “What are the odds?”

“Wow.”

Danny nodded and they just stared at each other for a minute. When the silence had gone on for too long Danny asked, “Can I read these?”

“There’s…” Steve took a deep breath and nodded. “There are letters in there that didn’t get sent. I.. uh.”

“Babe, if you don’t want me to read them, I won’t.” Danny was itching to read them. He didn’t think there wasn’t much he didn’t know about Steve, but if Steve didn’t want him to read everything, Danny would honor his feelings.

“No, I… Dawg was kind of fictional to me. After the assignment ended, I wrote some letters when I was having a bad time. He was, well you were, kind of like having a diary, without being girly and writing in a diary.” Steve’s shoulders shrugged.

Danny moved to try and hand the folder back to Steve. “I kind of missed the letters when they stopped.” Steve just shook his head.

“Go ahead, if you really want to read them, then I think I’d like you to. I’ll go help Grace.”

Danny watched as Steve walked away from him. It was strange. He felt sad and hopeful all at once. Danny moved out to his chair on the lawn.

*~*~*

_Dawg,_

_You’re not as funny as you think you are. Not an insult, I just think you should know that._

_Yes, we do surf almost every day. It’s easy and fun. If you come out here you should give it a try. I’d teach you, and only let you drown a little. And you are wrong, it’s much more fun than baseball. All the girls line up to watch, and they are wearing bikinis._

_1) Are you on the east coast?_

_2) Do you observe Daylight Savings?_

_3) Does the snow last all winter? Or does it melt between storms?_

_We do get snow in the very high elevations, but it’s rare and I’ve never seen it. We don’t ski here. The sledding you described sounds fun, we don’t do that here either._

_I live in the state capital. It’s nice, there’s city things to do, but it’s close enough to rural things too._

_My mother wants a new picket fence for the front of the house. In front of which she will plant enough flowers so that you won’t be able to see the fence anyway. My dad promised me that if I helped him build it without complaint, he would talk my mother into buying an antique car that he and I could fix up. We’re going this weekend to get the lumber._

_Good luck at tryouts,_

_Smooth_

*~*~*

_Hey Dawg,_

_They told me that you broke your arm at the batting cages, and that you’ve been excused from this assignment. I hope you’re okay, and that the cast comes off soon._

_Obviously that doesn’t mean that I’m excused. I’m getting an A in geography anyway, so they said I could just do this for penmanship and grammar. You will still be getting letters I guess, since I’ll have to write them. Or maybe they won’t send them. That will be even more weird, writing letters to someone I don’t know AND who will never read them. I guess we’ll see._

_Dad and I finished building the fence sections, and we started digging the post holes. That is arduous. I don’t think I’ll ever want to build another fence again. He’s off on Friday and Saturday this week, and we are planning on getting it installed by the end of Saturday. It will be my job to paint it next week after school._

_We started looking in the paper for old cars._

_I’ll write again in two weeks. Hope your arm gets better soon._

_Smooth_

*~*~*

_Hey Dawg,_

_School is out for the summer, it feels weird not to have to write to you anymore. But it is kind of cool that I don’t have to have my mom go over everything for grammar, and that I can end a sentence with the word to if I want to._

_A couple of the kids in my class got their pen pals’ names and addresses. They say they are going to keep writing, that they made really good friends. I would have liked to have really written to you. I liked getting letters that weren’t from family, even it was only a few of them. I probably shouldn’t guilt you with this, but since you won’t read this, it doesn’t matter much._

_My dad bought the Marquis. It’s kind of cool, it’s huge and old. It’s smells like a wet dog lived in it for years. We are going to start taking the engine apart on Dad’s next day off. Can’t wait._

_I had to promise to take Mary surfing at least once a week for the summer. I’m not happy._

_I hope you have a good summer,_

_Smooth_

*~*~*

Danny smiled at the letter as he finished reading it. He put it face down in the order of the letters that Steve had hand written as a 13 year old.

The next few letters were all dated the same summer. Steve had kept up writing every other week, until school started up again. Danny was amused.

The sparse few that had been written over the course of the next couple of years were mostly about girls. It was interesting to see how Steve’s handwriting changed, how Danny could see his age progression in the wording and the penmanship.

Danny stopped reading for a minute when Steve and Grace came out, both dressed for the water and swearing that her letter was well composed and spell checked. He watched them both run down toward the water and reached for the next letter.

*~*~*

_Dawg,_

_I’m telling you this because I need to say it, and I can’t say it all to my father. It feels like I need to be strong for him. Him and Mary._

_A policeman came to the door last week. He came to tell us that my mom was in a car accident and didn’t make it. My mom is dead._

_My mom is dead, and my father is sending me and Mary away. He said it would be better for us. That we’ll have better opportunities where we’re going. We’re not even going to the same places._

_It’s not fair. It’s not fair that my mom is dead. It’s not fair that I lost her. It’s not fair that I’m losing my dad and my sister too because she’s dead. Is it asking that much for things to be fair? I just want everything to go back the way it was a two weeks ago. I want my mom back. I want to finish school here. I want to sleep in my own bed until I go away to college. I want things to be normal again._

_Are both of your parents still alive? How is that fair that you have both of them and I’m getting shipped off to neither of mine? I fucking hate this. I fucking hate you!_

_I want my mom back!_

*~*~*

Danny swiped the tears from his face at the sound of his daughter’s laughter. It was a shame that Steve hadn’t had anyone to say all that to, except a pen pal who had broken his arm and never written back. That the boy couldn’t rage at anyone, and just did what a good son did in the face of his father’s devastation at the loss of his wife.

He was glad in part, that even if he hadn’t gotten the letter, even if he’d never thought to give Steve his name and address, even if it hadn’t occurred to him to write to Smooth after his cast came off; he was glad that Dawg could be there for him in effigy.

Danny picked up his cell phone and called for a pizza to be delivered.

*~*~*

Two days later Steve was in his office. He'd finished going over some military personnel files that were _eyes only_ while Danny and Chin were picking up lunch. Bobby (or Billy, Steve could never remember the kid's name) knocked on the office door with an express overnight package in his hands. Steve waived him in.

"Just came in. From New Jersey, but it's your name not Detective Williams," the kid said holding out the box for Steve to take.

"Thanks, man." The kid left and Steve shook the box after reading a return address of Danny's parents home. There was something large inside and a lot of little somethings. Steve opened the box and let the contents slide out onto his desk. Not packing peanuts, but saltwater taffy (interesting packing choice) and a box slightly bigger than Steve's hand wrapped in a paper grocery store bag. There was also a piece of notepaper taped to the box.

_Steve, please let Danny know that you got this because I'm sure I'll hear from him if you don't tell him soon. I don't know why he asked for it, but he wanted you to have it and right away. Tell him I didn't look just like he said, but if I overnighted the pictures he cut out of his dad's Playboys when he was a kid he's going to hear about it. Hope you're doing well. Sheila._

*~*~*

_Smooth,_

_Yeah, that’s still a weird name._

_The cast came off too late for baseball, and that sucks. Dad keeps telling me that I’ll be great for next year, but I don’t know._

_Anyway, the doctor’s office says that I need to do exercises for the arm, and my mother says my penmanship is a wreck. I figure writing to you will help with both, and maybe help with the guilt I feel that you had to keep writing to me and get nothing back._

_I broke my arm at the batting cages. That’s the story that everyone gets, but the truth is that some guy there thought he was funny, picking on my little brother, Matty. And you know the thing, nobody picks on my little brother but me? I shoved the guy, he shoved back, I shoved harder and tossed him on his ass, he cracked my elbow with a bat. Then he hit me again and broke my forearm. So a lot of pain. Anyway, we aren’t saying what happened for real so that Matty won’t get picked on more. Apparently the kid torments him at school. My dad talked to his dad and if we don’t press charges, they’ll get him into therapy._

_We’re going down to Wildwood for the 4th. I don’t want to go, but my mom’s whole family will be there this year, so there is no getting out of it._

_There were kids in my class who got real addresses from their pen pals. I wish I had thought to get yours, I’d like to keep talking to you._

_Well, that’s a whole page you’ll never see. Sorry, Smooth._

_Dawg_

*~*~*

The grocery wrapping contained a cigar box, and Steve smiled when he peaked inside. He knew why Danny’d had it sent. There was a blue crayon taped to the lid, as well as a few arcade tokens. The bulk of the contents were letters. They weren’t dated, so Steve just figured they were oldest at the bottom and started reading.

There was a letter about being at the beach with his family, about why he hated the ocean and didn’t swim anymore. There was a letter about a girl in the eighth grade, and Dawg wasn’t sure if her like-liking him was too much of a commitment or not. And there was another letter about a huge argument that his mother and her sister had at Thanksgiving that made Steve smile.

“You got it.” Danny nodded at the box and snagged a piece of taffy off the desk. He threw one to Chin as well. “We got a lead, gotta go.”

Steve stuffed the box and taffy into a draw to wait for him.

*~*~*

Danny read through the folder he’d taken home from Steve’s. He had held off since he read the one about Doris’s death. He wanted to be sure that Steve had his, before he got into heavier things that Steve may have written.

He knew his letters had some things he hadn’t shared with other people. Writing to Smooth had helped him to learn not to blurt out what he was thinking, it had taught him to analyze what he saw and heard before coming to conclusions. Writing to Steve helped to make him the man he was. 

Danny picked up the next letter, picturing Steve settling in to go through the cigar box. He should have grabbed more taffy for himself.

*~*~*

_Dawg._

_School sucks. I want to go back to Honolulu, but it’s not home anymore and I need to be good for my dad so I’m stuck here. Stuck in crappy boarding school that I have a very hard time believing will be anything like the Navy._

_I got into Annapolis though. I didn’t doubt it too much, my father knows the Governor of Hawaii. Just not his own son._

_My aunt says it was hard for him, to send both of us away. Maybe it was, she says not to be harsh with him. I try not to, but it’s not easy. I’m sure he has a reason, but I’m not sure I care about what it was._

_So I’m buckling down and doing what I have to. Good son, good sailor._

_It does suck that there are no girls here._

_Smooth_

*~*~*

_Smooth_

_HIGH SCHOOL IS OVER!_

_I’m going to college for a couple of years at least. I want to join the police force, and the guidance lady recommended school first. So I’m registered and will be commuting to school._

_Alright so, weird thing happened and I need to tell someone, but I can’t so I’m telling you, Smooth. Last night, a friend of mine called and wanted to go out to the shore. Just us. And we get there, his car, and he tells me he’s gay. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to be all “You’re gay for me?”, but I didn’t want to blow it of either. I told him okay, asked him if there was someone he was seeing, someone he liked. Asked him if he told anyone else, or even his parents. We joked later about how it made sense to me that he always dated quiet uptight girls, because he didn’t have to worry about them not putting out. It was kind of sad that he had to be in the closet all through school. After, when he dropped me off at home, he said that he liked that I made it a big deal without making a big deal out of it. Made me glad that I answered the way I did. He hasn’t told anyone else, so I can’t talk to anyone about it but you._

_Completely unrelated, but I do think about you from time to time. I hope you’re doing well. Wonder if you’re going to college in the fall, and if so where. I wonder what you look like, wonder if I’d know you if we ran in to each other someday._

_Take care._

_Dawg_

*~*~*

_Dawg,_

_Annapolis is much better than boarding school was. Everything makes sense. It just clicks. I can’t wait to get to the Navy._

_The girl situation has gotten better, but now there’s no time. My father said that means I’m an adult now._

_Did you go on to another school, did you finish high school? Maybe your arm healed and you’re playing baseball for a Boston school? Maybe you were good enough to go straight to the minors?_

_I can also picture you as a geek too. You could have gotten into MIT for all I know._

_I’m going to try to be a SEAL. My instructor says most people say that. He also says that most people who actually do try fail. I’m nervous, but I’m going to give it everything._

_Another letter for the folder._

_Smooth_

*~*~*

(On a post card of the Empire State building)

_Smooth,_

_I met this girl last night! Oh man, the things she knew how to do! I’ll probably never see her again, but this was the best weekend EVER!_

_Dawg_

*~*~*

_Dawg_

_I did make it into BUDS! I start in a month! I’ll be a SEAL in no time. Wish me luck._

_Smooth_

*~*~*

(On a postcard of the World Trade Center)

_Smooth,_

_They guys and I went back to try a repeat of last year’s incredible weekend. I met a guy, and yes, he knew how to do a few things too. Is it weird that I hooked up with a guy?_

_Dawg_

*~*~*

_Dawg,_

_I was writing you a letter the other day, and one of the guys in my unit grabbed it away from me. It wasn’t anything that they didn’t already know, and it was nothing secret that I should be telling someone I’d actually mail a letter to. But he saw the names and the guys have been calling me SmoothDawg ever since._

_Just thought you should, or should not, know._

_Smooth_

*~*~*

Danny laughed. No wonder Steve hadn’t wanted to tell him where the nickname came from.

He kept reading, kept feeling sorry that Steve had milestones in his life that he didn’t have someone to share with. Didn’t have someone to pat him on the back, or someone to laugh some more with.

*~*~*

_I know, I know, I haven’t written in ages. And even then it’s been 6 or 7 post cards for the last ones. I’m not much better of a pen pal than I was in 7th grade. Sorry, Smooth._

_I bought a ring. I know, it’s kind of crazy. I love her, I know that, and I know that she loves me. It’s just forever is huge. Really huge._

_I’ve been saving, and I also took out a loan to buy it. It’s platinum and a carat and a half and I’m sounding more and more like a chick here. She’s worth it, and so out of my league I can’t believe she is even serious about me. What if she says no?_

_I’m going to drive myself crazy until the ring comes in and I can finally get her answer._

_Do you have someone wonderful in your life?_

_Dawg_

*~*~*

_Smooth,_

_She is so perfect, so absolutely perfect. Nobody has ever had a more perfect child. Ever! She’s beautiful and tiny and a miracle. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me. And as much as I think Rachel might be too good for me, I know that I will never be good enough for this tiny little person, and can only hope I’m as good a father as my father has been._

_You should see them crowd around the window, taking pictures and cooing at her. Even my nephew Eric is excited about her. And Matty is so proud you’d think he gave birth instead of Rachel._

_We’re naming her Grace, after Grace. And I know how stupid that sentence sounds but it’s the best honor I can give my partner, to want my daughter to be like her. It’s also the best start I can give my daughter toward being a strong woman some day._

_I don’t think my life could get better than this. If you don’t have this joy, Smooth, I hope you find it._

_Dawg_

*~*~*

It brought tears to Steve’s eyes. He could practically feel Danny vibrating with excitement about his new baby girl. He knew, everyone knew, how the man felt about Grace, but it was different seeing it on paper and all brand new. He guessed it was true, as much as Steve would give his life for Grace in a heartbeat, it was not the same as the miracle of having your own child.

Some part of him, some strange part, didn’t know if he wanted his own children someday, or if he wanted to know that feeling for Grace.

*~*~*

_Dawg_

_I officially ran my first mission. It was successful, and everyone came home. As much as there is fear and knowledge keeping me going while I’m there, in the moment, there is a very satisfying feeling coming home with everyone in tow._

_No matter what I do, I don’t feel like I’m doing the right thing the right way. Not since my father sent us away. This feels like the right thing._

_One of the guys just asked if I was writing to you. They laughed. “Do you want to kiss him? Is he your boyfriend?” They’ve met Catherine, and they are still going on about it and Don’t Ask Don’t Tell._

_So of course I can’t get the idea of kissing you out of my mind. I don’t know what you look like or if I know you if I tripped over you, but I’m thinking about kissing you._

_Maybe you think about it too._

_Smooth_

*~*~*

_Smooth,_

_I don’t know what to do. She asked me to move out. Rachel asked for a divorce. I’m not an idiot, I know we weren’t doing well, and she wasn’t happy. We tried counseling last summer and that was a bust. I saw it coming, but I guess I chose to ignore it._

_She doesn’t want to be married to a cop. Part of it is the job, the fear she has of me not coming home, which only doubled with Grace and Grace. But I can’t help thinking that part of it is the money too. Her parents aren’t millionaires, but when I was growing up, we’d have called them rich. I know she expects things, and that she’d like to do country club things that I can’t afford. She’d like to be a stay at home mom without scrimping elsewhere. I can’t blame her, I’d like that for her too. But I love my job. I’m good at it, and like doing it well. I can’t imagine doing anything else. But she’s telling me it’s her or my job._

_And how am I supposed to live without Grace? Live a neighborhood or a town away? Live without seeing her every day? How am I going to get through without coming home to a hug from my baby?_

_The guys at work, who knew better where this was headed, say not to move out, not to leave the house for even a night. I can’t begrudge Rachel the house. I can’t begrudge her custody. How am I supposed to do this? How am I supposed to step away from everything I want because she doesn’t want me anymore? I suppose if I loved her unselfishly I could give her whatever she wants._

_I have never felt like more of a failure in my life._

_Dawg_

*~*~*

Steve could see it, he could see the moment that Danny had turned from the hopeful guy with the brand new baby that had him vibrating with joy into the bitter man that Steve had first met. He knew better than to fault Rachel, he knew that people didn’t always come home from the job. He just hated to watch Danny get crushed like that, right there in print.

Steve felt his sigh from his shoulders to his toes, and his heart broke for his partner a little more at the desperation in the next letter.

*~*~*

_Smooth,_

_She’s taking Grace to Hawaii. They are moving across the planet and I can’t stop her._

_She got married 2 weeks after our divorce was final, which was as much of a kick in the balls as watching her drop off Grace for our first visit after our separation was legal with a new boyfriend. And now this fabulous hotel/investment/drips-money-out-his-asshole/tool has bought them a big home in Honolulu where he got Grace accepted to a wonderful school that he’s going to pay for._

_Rachel tells me that Stan loves Grace. And he should, she’s the best little monkey on the planet. But he’s not her father, he shouldn’t be taking her away and setting up and paying for her education. I know he can give her things I can’t, and she deserves every advantage, but_

_They are taking my baby away._

_They are going to let me transfer in to the HPD, with a cut in pay. The rates for apartment rental are sky high, and the one I said yes to is cheap enough that it could be next to a meth lab. But after letting my pride say that I’d spring for half of the schooling, it’s all I can afford._

_She’s all I’ve got left. I can’t let Grace go. So I’m going to Hawaii._

_D_

*~*~*

_Dawg,_

_There’s so much to say. Just writing this for myself, it’s difficult to organize everything that’s happened recently._

_They murdered my father. Terrorists that I’ve been tracking and finally grabbed one, they shot him while they taunted me on the phone. He was the man I remember from before he sent me away, for just a minute he was Dad, and then I heard the gunshot and now both of my parents are dead._

_It’s gotten bigger. My father left clues to what he was investigating. I got offered a job by the governor, form my own task force, fill it with who I want. I’m going to find out what my father was working on. Find the man who killed him. Find his body because I killed him._

_Everything happened so fast. I wasn’t going to take the job, I wasn’t going to chase Hesse on the island. And then Danny happened. He pointed a gun at me and tried to kick me out of the crime scene. He was a tool of a h’aole, who actually knew what he was doing, and he didn’t want to be my partner when I asked him to be. Now I have a team, a partner, and Hawaii feels like home in a way is hasn’t since my mother died._

_Danny is something. He’s short, and uses more hair product than most women, but he’s devoted to his job and his daughter. He argues with me and calls me on everything. And sometimes I just want to lean across the gear shift and kiss him._

_I’m going to find Hesse, and figure out what my father was working on. This feels right. The task force and Danny feel more right than even becoming a SEAL did._

_Smooth_

*~*~*

“First, and just to set the record straight” Danny barged right in to Steve’s living room with the Trapper Keeper waving in the air to make his point. “You did not **ask** me to be your partner. I was shanghaied.”

“You were never shanghaied.” Steve didn’t even look up from his pizza, just pushed the box to the side slightly in offering. “Conscripted possibly. But you didn’t get drunk, pass out, and wake up working for me. What’s second?”

Danny sat down on the couch next to Steve, dropping the folder on the coffee table, and nudging Steve’s knee with his own. “You want to kiss me?”

Steve blushed, didn’t look up from his dinner. “Yeah,” he confessed softly with a nodded head. “Sometimes.”

“How about now?” Dawg leaned in.


End file.
